Our Yarndale Sheep

Every year, we create a new sheep to be the mascot for Yarndale and over the past 12 years, our sheep have become a part of the Yarndale flock and take pride of place at every show.

Deciding on the sheep each year is a team affair. We decide on a style and colour and then follows the lengthy task of creating a woolly life size sheep to bring the ideas to life.

Our sheep and their colours have inspired a collaboration with West Yorkshire Spinners who produce our very own sock yarn. We now have four exclusive colourways – Hope (2020), Barbara (2019), Nigel (2018) and Maude (2021).

Our 2024 Sheep

As we thought about the design for this year’s sheep, we knew we wanted to shine a light on British wool, sustainability and traceability. We were clear the design should include a mix of different wools and colours to encourage people to consider the yarn they use in their makes, what works, and where it comes from.

We thought it would be lovely to include those of our exhibitors who are British Wool licensees. We asked them to contribute their favourite yarns from their British wool range to help us create the design. We wanted to showcase the versatility and splendour of different wool produced here and used the different yarns in different ways to highlight the possibilities.

Thank you to Barefaced Knits, John Arbon Textiles, The Modern Crafter, Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop and Woolyknit for the gorgeous British wool.

Below, you will see brochure covers from past Yarndale shows featuring all our sheep. How many brochures have you collected over the years?